A Filbert is a Nut

by Rick Raphael

That the gentleman in question was a nut was beyond question. He was an institutionalized psychotic. He was nutty enough to think he could make an atom bomb out of modeling clay! opening to story: Miss Abercrombie, the manual therapist patted the old man on the shoulder. "You're doing just fine, Mr. Lieberman. Show it to me when you have finished." The oldster in the stained convalescent suit gave her a quick, shy smile and went back to his aimless smearing in the finger paints. Miss Abercrombie smoothed her smock down over trim hips and surveyed the other patients working at the long tables in the hospital's arts and crafts shop. Two muscular and bored attendants in spotless whites, lounged beside the locked door and chatted idly about the Dodgers' prospects for the pennant. Through the barred windows of the workshop, rolling green hills were seen, their tree-studded flanks making a pleasant setting for the mental institution. The crafts building was a good mile away from the main buildings of the hospital and the hills blocked the view of the austere complex of buildings that housed the main wards. The therapist strolled down the line of tables, pausing to give a word of advice here, and a suggestion there. She stopped behind a frowning, intense patient, rapidly shaping blobs of clay into odd-sized strips and forms. As he finished each piece, he carefully placed it into a hollow shell hemisphere of clay. "And what are we making today, Mr. Funston?" Miss Abercrombie asked. The flying fingers continued to whip out the bits of shaped clay as the patient ignored the question. He hunched closer to his table as if to draw away from the woman. "We mustn't be antisocial, Mr. Funston," Miss Abercrombie said lightly, but firmly. "You've been coming along famously and you must remember to answer when someone talks to you. Now what are you making? It looks very complicated." She stared professionally at the maze of clay parts. Thaddeus Funston continued to mold the clay bits and put them in place. Without looking up from his bench he muttered a reply. "Atom bomb."

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1959

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: I knew about Rick Raphael by reading one of his stories ("Code three") included in the sci-fi anthology "The world turned upside down." I liked the story, so went to project Gutenberg and found they had four different stories by Richard. I'm now about to read all four, and as Goodreads has them separately, I must qualify them separately, too.

This story is quite short (just 8 pages), but quite interesting. It's the first sci-fi story Raphael published, and it opened him the field. I think Chesterton would have liked it, having written about the reasonableness of maniacs in "Orthodoxy," and also as its title is a pun on the double sense of both "filbert" and "nut."

ESPAÑOL: Conocí a Rick Raphael a través de uno de sus cuentos ("Code three") que fue incluida en la antología de ciencia ficción "The world turned upside down". Me gustó el cuento, por lo que fui al proyecto Gutenberg y descubrí que tenían cuatro cuentos de Richard. Ahora estoy a punto de leerlos, y como Goodreads los tiene por separado, también debo calificarlos por separado.

Esta historia es bastante corta (solo 8 páginas), pero bastante interesante. Es la primera historia de ciencia ficción publicada por Raphael, y le abrió paso a este campo. Creo que a Chesterton le hubiera gustado, pues escribió acerca de la racionalidad de los locos en "Orthodoxy" y porque su título es un juego de palabras alrededor del doble sentido de "filbert" y de "nut".

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖊 My review: I like the play on words (filbert = a type of nut), and that the main character, Thaddeus Funston, has a name that coincides with a nut company in the 1950s called Funsten. The denouement is simply fascinating. This is a remarkable short science fiction story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
✔️Published in Astounding Science Fiction, November 1959.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form Project Gutenberg.
🔲 Excerpts of note:

🪐 Thaddeus Funston continued to mold the clay bits and put them in place. Without looking up from his bench he muttered a reply. "Atom bomb."

🪐 "Miss Abercrombie," one of the physicists spoke up gently, "you say that after the patients had departed the building, you looked again at Funston's work?" The therapist nodded unhappily. "And you say that, to the best of your knowledge," the physicist continued, "there was nothing inside the ball but other pieces of clay." "I'm positive that's all there was in it," Miss Abercrombie cried.

🚀●▬●💫 🪐 💫●▬●🚀

[P.H. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real rating: 5.9/10
A pleasant tale about perception: there is no true depth in the prose, and like many science fiction tales of the time, it is more about that subtle twist in the final 2-3 lines than about the story itself.
Recommended for commutes or the like where you want a quick read but do not need heavy focus.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird.

[Sharon G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this story when it was originally published. Thought then and still think that its content is better satire than humor. But a fun read worthy of reading now if it's new to you.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

scifi , short story, mental illness, nuclear explosion

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filbert = hazelnut
Nut = nut, crazy person

I’ve always thought people with mental illnesses have expanded minds. There’s something extra there with an ability to think about things the average person doesn’t.

He caused the atomic bombing by molding clay but apparently the second time didn’t need clay at all. How they watched the skyline explosion through the big window was wonderfully depicted.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun short story.
The narrators voice is clear and easy to listen to, she is a good story teller.
The recording quality is clear (no background noise), it could use some more volume but the editing technique is seamless.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.